Jomey

Hi everyone...it's 5 o'clock here...previous cocktail hour...it's first day back to school for the kids and everything is feeling so routine...it's bringing out a craving in me for the "routine" of drinking as soon as my husband gets home. YUK!

I am going to a meeting tomorrow morning, and I do not feel as though I am in serious peril of taking a drink...just caught myself thinking how nice it will be to relax on the porch with a drink in a few minutes....

I know this "routine" is another hurdle to overcome...during the summer it was easy to be spontaneous and if I felt like drinking around this time, I could just throw the kids in the truck, take off to the lake or the pool, and pass the time swimming or relaxing to beat it. Having homework (for the kids and for me! ), getting dinner together at an exact time, all that usual "life" stuff is kinda throwing me.

Like I said, I have no actual intention of drinking today...especially not after I typed this!!

Thanks for listening and any positive words would be greatly appreciated!

Anna

Hi,

Oh yes, routines were a huge thing for me. In the first few weeks, I changed my routines so I was doing different things when I would have been drinking. Being alone in the evening when my husband travelled, was a huge trigger for me, so I made myself go out, or rented a movie or planned something that would change my evening a bit. It really helped.

parentrecovers

i heard someone here once say they learned to cook in their crock pot. that way they could prepare dinner early in day and not have to go through that fixing dinner over cocktails thing. just a suggestion..

support out, k

Jersey Nonny

I guess anything at all that you can do to change the "routine" would be a positive reenforcement.

Have you established an AA network of phone numbers yet? Maybe you could take turns calling people on your list who wouldn't mind spending a few minutes chatting at 5:00 until the cravings pass.

Or, just log on here...read and/or post...there's always someone lurking. This is my 24/7 meeting.

Dee74

I'm just gonna say...you can do it Jomey
living sober is a gift, made all the more valuable because we have to work for it...

LOL maybe I should go into greeting cards or fortune cookies...
but it's not a slogan...I do really believe that

D

GrouchoTheCat

You could start a new hobby...

Jomey

Hi guys - thanks for the support and the ideas...K, I did my one crock-pot dish over the weekend - gotta get out and get a cookbook or do some net surfing for some recipes! That is a great idea..it would free me up at this time to take a walk, whatever...

Anna, I am so grateful for your post...my husband is going out of town for an entire week soon and I realize that is going to be a huge test. I hope, however, like Jersey Nonny suggested, to have my AA call list in place by then.

I am going to my second meeting tomorrow - a different one - that I can walk to and is for women only. That appeals to me to try a women's only group, so hopefully this will be the group for me.

Thanks so much for listening guys, it means the world!

Jersey Nonny

Sounds like a plan!

Jomey

Dee - thanks for just saying it! If you do decide to go into fortune cookies, make one that says "Feel gratitude at all times for sober living!" and/or "Be prepared to work your butt off to stay sober...and you will!" and send them to me! LOL Truly appreciate the support.

Groucho - awesome suggestion! I have signed up for a yoga class and an aerobics for beginners (I guess they are just too nice to say "out of shape" people ) and I enjoy them both, yoga more than aerobics, but both are good. My specific problem with this time of day is that I have to attend to stuff like dinner, homework, getting the kids ready for the next day, and just plain old spending time with them when they are home after school, and I used to have a drink in my hand the whole time I was doing it. Now I am going about it with a bottle of water in my hand, which oddly is helping a lot, but it would be hard to get too far away from the routine at this time of day. Any suggestions on a hobby I could spend 15-20 minutes on during the early evening? Anything you tried and liked?

Thanks again everyone!

SaTiT

well your children are not going to be children forever.
You can think of as routine or a gift. Or take the opportunity
to really get to know your children.

you can start a journal, it takes 10 to 15 mins

i don't know what would be a good hobbie for you.
Just make a list of what you enjoy doing...mmm when you are a child
before drugs and alcohol came into your life.

I'm a guy.lol
I used to play my guitar and record music..
I build model aircraft and fly them..that's an art in it's own right.
I monocoat my models with crazy or cool designs

just recently..I'm still teachable or still willing to learn.
I do computer graphic, now. I air bursh new paint scheme on models.
I'm building my own 3D cad model and learning how to do that.
I collect panorama photos (equirectangular) and convert them, then load
into a flight simulator, bascailly a 3D world or evironment. It's basically
just directx or java, or quicktime. Bascially i have 1000s of sceneries or
worlds.

Hopefully if things gets better , i hoping I'll be able to afford
a camera and a software and travel all ove the world to take cool
photos someday

stone

Hi Jomey, it IS hard work. Its worth it though. Good luck at your meeting tomorrow.

Aysha

Jomey...You can get through it...And I admire you for going to a meeting.
You already know I am a big coward..So if you can make it there..you can make it anywhere in my eyes.

Jomey

hi everyone - thanks for sharing.

SaTiT- I think you may have misunderstood what I was asking..I do not in any way view my children as "the routine" - "the routine" is what must be done to help them prepare for the evening and the next day. I love them and spending time with them was always paramount - even when I drank. (I was an evening/night time drinker...not a 24/7 drinker...so I did have a lot of time with my kids when I was not drinking/drunk). They are the biggest gift in the world to me...one of many reasons to be sober all the time. I do want to continue to get to know them..I am not looking to escape from them, just looking to escape the feeling of the evening routine necessarily including alcohol. I appreciate your input very much, just want to be clear that I am not looking to spend time away from the family, at least not more than 15-20 minutes for a little 'sanity/sobriety' break.

Thanks for the encouragement Stone. Cravings are gone for now. Thanks for taking the time to think of me.

Chy, girl, thanks for that big ole hug. It was just what I needed! You are NOT a coward...you are ME up until a week ago...you can do it, but(I hope I am not out of line with AA thinking to say this) it has to be your time. No one can make you go, and no one can convince you to be ready. You will find your time...I hope it's really soon, because being sober is crazy beautiful. Check in with you tomorrow & I'll let you know if this meeting is any easier.

I owe you all a great deal.

tanyapmc

Hi......

I am new to this forum. But your body may be craving the sugar that it use to get from alcohol. You may want to try gatorade (green is good) with some honey in it.
Take Care

stone

I love that!